Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is suing four opioid distributors for their alleged role in the epidemic gripping the state.

Named in the suit are McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and its subsidiaries, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and Miami-Luken Inc.

“We believe the evidence will show that these companies ignored their duties as drug distributors to ensure that opioids were not being diverted for improper use,” DeWine said. “They knew the amount of opioids allowed to flow into Ohio far exceeded what could be consumed for medically necessary purposes, but they did nothing to stop it.”

DeWine filed the lawsuit in the Madison County Common Pleas Court. Madison, which neighbors Franklin County to the west, consistently has had a higher number of opioids distributed than the state average. According to DeWine’s office, an average of about 76 opioid doses was distributed for every resident in the county in 2016.

The suit alleges the distributors were negligent and created a public nuisance by “using unsafe distribution practices and by irresponsibly oversupplying the market in and around Ohio with highly addictive prescription opioids.”

It also alleges the distributors “failed to act upon their responsibilities under both federal and Ohio law to stop such orders that would result in oversupply and report these suspicious orders to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.”

DeWine alleges that the companies “should have known that the volume of opioids supplied far exceeded what could be responsibly used in markets in Ohio and would likely have contributed to the opioids being illegally diverted and abused. His office said this behavior directly fueled the opioid epidemic the state is facing.

The attorney general is seeking a number of remedies including punitive damages as well as compensatory damages for costs incurred by the state for its increased spending on health care, criminal justice, social services and education.

The lawsuit also seeks to enjoin the defendants from further improper conduct by complying with reporting requirements for suspicious orders and to undertake more complete reporting of suspicious orders to the DEA, Ohio Pharmacy Board and the attorney general’s office.

In going after drug distributors, Ohio is doing what many of its counties have already done. The four distributors are named in several lawsuits filed by counties, including Geauga, Lake and Lorain. The county lawsuits were filed against manufacturers, distributors and pill mill doctors.

“As distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country,” said John Parker, senior vice president of Healthcare Distribution Alliance. “We are deeply engaged in the issue and are taking our own steps to be part of the solution — but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats.

“Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the sale and secure storage, transport and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians. We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines or dispense them to consumers. Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated.”